Describes the policies of Courmacs Legal Ltd (“we,” “us,” or “our”), Alexander House, Beehive Trading Park, Haslingden Road, Blackburn, Lancashire BB1 2EE, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Email: info@courmacslegal.co.uk | Phone: 0330 341 0481
- Courmacs Legal Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA Reg No: 819044) and registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO Reg No: ZA886741).
Registered in England and Wales under Company Number: 13185687. - By accessing or using our website (courmacslegal.co.uk) (“the Service”), you are consenting to the collection, use, and disclosure of your information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
If you do not consent, please do not access or use the Service. - We may modify this Privacy Policy at any time without prior notice. The revised version will be effective immediately upon posting. Continued use of the Service after such posting will constitute your acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy. Please review this page periodically.
Trading styles
- Courmacs Legal Ltd also operates under the following trading styles:
- The PCP Experts
Louisa’s Tips
Finance Claims Expert
Car Finance Search - All trading styles form part of Courmacs Legal Ltd. Any reference to “we”, “us” or “our” in this Privacy Policy includes Courmacs Legal Ltd and its trading styles.
1. Information we collect
- When you complete a form on our website, contact us by email or telephone, interact with us on social media, or engage with us through one of our trading styles, we may collect and process personal information, including:
- Name
- Email address
- Telephone number
- Company name (where relevant, for example, business energy claims)
- Vehicle and finance agreement details
- Information you provide in messages, forms, or calls
2. Information from third parties or public sources
We may receive information about you from reputable third-party sources, including marketing introducers, lead providers, credit reference agencies, the DVLA, regulators, or publicly available sources, where lawful to do so.
3. Credit reference agency and identity checks
We work in partnership with Valid8 IP Ltd, who assist us with identity verification and identifying potential claims through secure data processing.
We will disclose personal data to our partner Valid8 IP Ltd for the provision of credit report and identity information, which may include Equifax Ltd, Experian Ltd, and TransUnion.
These are soft credit searches and do not affect your credit score. They are used solely to verify information and identify potential car-finance agreements.
To understand how credit reference agencies use and share personal data (including the legitimate interests they pursue), please refer to the Credit Reference Agency Information Notices (CRAIN):
TransUnion – http://www.transunion.co.uk/crain
Equifax – https://www.equifax.co.uk/crain/
Experian – https://www.experian.co.uk/legal/crain/
You can review Valid8 IP Ltd’s Privacy Policy for further information on how they handle your data.
4. Consent for identity verification and soft credit searches
Where required, we will ask you to confirm the following consent before carrying out identity verification or soft credit searches:
“I agree to the Privacy Policy of Courmacs Legal Ltd and authorise them to verify my identity and conduct soft credit searches on my behalf through their provider, Valid8 IP Ltd, with no impact on my credit score. I also agree to Valid8 IP Ltd’s Privacy Policy.”
This consent may be obtained online or offline and can be withdrawn at any time.
5. Third-party marketing provider
We work with The Genius Group Ltd (“TGG”) as a third-party marketing provider.
TGG may collect and process personal data, including contact details, identity data, financial and vehicle information, usage data, and marketing preferences.
Special category data is processed only with your explicit consent or where permitted under Article 9 of the UK GDPR
When completing forms such as “Find My Agreements”, you may be asked to confirm your consent for TGG to process and share your data with us and to acknowledge that a soft credit check may be carried out by Valid8 IP Ltd.
Once we receive your information from TGG, we will use it to assess eligibility, perform necessary checks, and contact you regarding the progress or closure of your enquiry or case.
6. How we use your information
- We may use your personal information for the following purposes:
- Assessing eligibility for claims or services
- Providing legal services and managing cases
- Communicating with you
- Marketing and promotional activity (where permitted by law)
- Collecting feedback and improving our services
- Administration and record-keeping
- Analytics and service improvement
- Security and fraud prevention
- Legal and regulatory compliance
- If the way we use your personal information changes, we will update this Privacy Policy and notify you were required.
7. Direct marketing and newsletters
In addition to marketing activity carried out by third-party partners such as TGG, we may contact you directly with information about our legal services, updates, insights, and related content.
Where you provide your email address through our website, including where you choose to keep updated, subscribe, or submit an enquiry, you are opting in to receive communications from us. These communications may include newsletters and website updates.
You can opt out or withdraw your consent at any time by using the unsubscribe link included in our emails or by contacting us at info@courmacslegal.co.uk.
8. Lawful basis for processing
- We process your personal data under one or more of the following lawful bases:
- Consent
- Contractual necessity
- Legitimate interests
- Legal obligation
- Vital interests (rare circumstances)
- You may withdraw consent at any time.
9. How we share your information
We may share your personal data where necessary with the following parties:
- Valid8 IP Ltd, who carry out identity verification and soft credit checks on our behalf
- Credit reference agencies (Equifax Ltd, Experian Ltd, and TransUnion) via Valid8 IP Ltd, as part of the identity verification and soft credit checking process
- Marketing introducers such as The Genius Group Ltd (where applicable)
- Funders or financial partners involved in claim financing
- Professional advisers, auditors, and insurers
- Courts and regulators, including the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
We do not disclose personal data directly to credit reference agencies. All such checks are carried out via Valid8 IP Ltd in accordance with their compliance requirements.
All third parties are required to safeguard your data and use it only for lawful and authorised purposes.
If our business is sold or merged, your personal data may be transferred to the new owner in accordance with applicable data protection laws.
10. Retention of your information
We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, and to meet our legal, regulatory, and professional obligations.
- Where a client has opted in to receive marketing communications, we retain the minimum necessary contact details for marketing purposes only and only until consent is withdrawn.
- Information relating to claims, enquiries, or case files is securely deleted or anonymised once it is no longer required for legal, regulatory, or operational purposes.
In some circumstances, personal data may be retained for between 90 days and up to 6 years, or longer where required for legal, regulatory, or fraud-prevention reasons.
Anonymous or aggregated data that cannot identify an individual may be retained indefinitely.
11. Your rights
You have the right to access, correct, or erase your personal data, restrict or object to processing, withdraw consent, and lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office.
To exercise your rights, contact info@courmacslegal.co.uk. If you withdraw consent, we may be unable to provide certain services.
12. Cookies
Details of how we use cookies are available in our Cookie Policy.
13. Security
We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, loss, alteration, or disclosure.
14. Third-party links
Our Service may contain links to third-party websites. This Privacy Policy does not apply to those websites. We recommend reviewing their privacy policies separately.
15. Grievance / Data Protection Officer
If you have any queries or concerns about how your information is processed, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our Data Protection Officer:
- Darren Smith
Courmacs Legal Ltd
Alexander House, Beehive Trading Park
Haslingden Road, Blackburn BB1 2EE
Email: ds@courmacslegal.co.uk
